1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides a system of head and spine protection conceptually different from, and superior to, the traditional free-floating helmet concept, for use in high impact physical activities, such as such as football, hockey, lacrosse, motorcycling, downhill skiing, bobsledding/luge, cycling, snowmobiling, race car driving, factory/construction activities, firefighting, skydiving, and training/battlefield activities by the military and law enforcement officers. The head dome and connection system provides a clear or tinted, impact-proof, projectile-proof bubble over the head and neck, which is secured firmly to the wearer""s shoulders and torso via a connection system of straps to a harness or to the waistline/upper thighs. The head is protected from impact against the inside of the dome by a cushioned cap, secured in place with a chin strap. The head dome can contain, in various embodiments, climate controlling features, solution-treated surfaces to prevent visual obfuscation from fog/ice/water beads, heat resistant construction for firefighting applications, radio/digital communication options, and a self-contained breathing apparatus. The head dome and connection system thus keeps the entire face, head, neck and cervical/upper thoracic portion of the spine free from the injurious impacts from exterior forces, objects and projectiles, while preserving the wearer""s freedom of head movement, unobstructed vision, enhanced communication options, and comfort. Inside the head dome, the wearer""s head and neck movement and interaction with his or her surroundings are virtually as unimpeded if there were no head protection whatsoever.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is commonly known that many contact sports, such as football, hockey and lacrosse, and other vigorous physical activities, such as motorcycling, downhill skiing, bobsledding/luge, cycling, snowmobiling, race car driving, factory and construction activities, skydiving, training/battlefield activities engaged in by members of the military, and training/street activities engaged in by law enforcement officers, and other dangerous activities, such as firefighting, can subject the human head and spine to powerful external forces from moving and/or stationary objects.
For example, in American football, the player""s head is routinely stopped abruptly while the shoulders and the rest of the body keep going, thus causing the neck to buckle from excessive axial loading and compression. When the bubble strikes an object, the shoulders will absorb the load rather than the top of the head, since the head will have no contact with the bubble. The head will still stop abruptly, just as in the current helmet shoulders will absorb the load rather than the top of the head, since the head will have no contact with the bubble. The head will still stop abruptly, just as in the current helmet design, however the shoulders will stop as well. Therefore the neck will not compress, and the chance of the neck buckling from even the fiercest hit is almost impossible.
Trauma to the head and neck can lead to a wide range of catastrophic and sometimes fatal injuries. Because the human spinal cord is protected by a series of vertebrae separated by ligaments and cartilage having relatively minor compressive or elastic strength, external forces impacting the spinal process can crush and/or displace the fragile bones and/or soft tissue, and apply shear stresses to the delicate enclosed nerve bundles.
The biomechanics of cervical spine fracture illustrates the dangers of direct head compression, with axial loading and flexion, in high impact physical activities such as football. Normally, when a person stands up straight, the cervical spine has a normal upward curve. However, when an individual lowers his head and bends his neck slightly forward, his cervical spine straightens. The spine then becomes what is called a segmental column. If a force is applied to the top of the head with the spine straightened (axial loading), the spinal element can not dissipate the force through controlled motion. Instead the continued motion of the body will result in the compression in the spine. If the forces are greater than the elastic capability of the spine, the spinal segment will buckle. The result is a fracture and/or dislocation. Thus, when the loading on the crown of the athlete""s head plus the velocity of body weight compress the cervical spine, the spine and the spinal cord are literally crushed between the player""s head and his body.
Depending upon the strength, angle and duration of such forces, the impact can cause a wide array of serious head and spine injury along the entire length of the spine, resulting, in some cases, in complete quadriplegia, and even in death. It has been reported that 92% of all spinal injuries in athletics result in quadriplegia. The National Spinal Cord Injury Association: Spinal Cord Injury Statistics: httn://www.sninalcord.orwresourcemactsheets/factsheec.html. This source reports that each year, 7800 people (or 32 injuries per million population) across the United States suffer spinal cord injuries resulting in at least partial loss of sensation, motor function and bowel and bladder control; in all, 250,000-400,000 individuals live with a spinal cord injury or spinal dysfunction. Sporting activities alone are known to be one of the four leading causes of spinal cord injury, and football activities are one of the most dangerous of all sporting activities.
One investigation into serious head and neck injuries revealed that 54% of all spinal cord injuries in school and college athletics occur in football. Watkins, xe2x80x9cCervical Spine and Spinal Cord Injuries,xe2x80x9d Sports Injuries: Mechanisms, Prevention and Treatment, Baltimore, Md., Williams and Wilkins Co., 1994. From 1959 to 1963, there were 30 permanent cervical spinal cord injuries in high school and college football. There were 133 permanent cervical spinal cord injuries in high school and college football from 1971-1976, 34 of which occurred in 1976. Torg, J.S., xe2x80x9cThe Epidemiological, Biomechanical, and Cinematographic Analysis of Football Induced Cervical Spine Trauma,xe2x80x9d Athletic Training: Journal of National Athletic Trainers Association, National Athletic Trainers Association, 1990, pp. 25-147. There have still been at least 195 football players with incomplete neurological recovery from cervical cord injuries, or on average 9.3 per year since 1976.
The danger is by no means limited to football. On Oct. 20, 1995, Travis Roy, a Boston University freshman hockey player, was paralyzed as a result of skating headfirst into the boards. Or, society has watched the sad plight of actor, Christopher Reeve, following an equestrian accident where he struck his head on the ground after falling from his horse, and his xe2x80x9cskull capxe2x80x9d helmet did nothing to blunt the trauma to his cervical spine, rendering him a paraplegic. Devastating and well-known examples of similar incidents abound in downhill skiing accidents, motorcycle accidents, bobsledding accidents, training/battlefield accidents in the military, riot control accidents by police officers, etc.
The tragic statistics concerning spinal cord injuries in contact sports and other impact activities can be blamed almost entirely upon the deficient design of the conventional xe2x80x9chelmet.xe2x80x9d Presently, head protection for dangerous activities is provided by various helmet designs, which typically provide a durable, shock-resistant barrier around the wearer""s skull. Such helmets often add a facial visor or guard to provide additional protection to the face. Current football helmets, for example, are made up of a polycarbonate shell, with padding inside the shell, and a face mask attached to the front of the helmet. A chin strap secures the helmet to the player""s head. Shoulder pads are added to shield the shoulders from impact, which functions independent of the helmet.
In additional to helmets and shoulder pads, some players wear extra equipment in attempt to protect the neck, such as cervical collars, xe2x80x9ccowboy collars,xe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cneck rolls.xe2x80x9d Such devices slightly restrict undesired lateral and posterior movement of the player""s head and neck, but do not prevent the underlying problem of axial loading or whiplash transmitted from the head to the extremely delicate cervical spine.
The reason is that, because the conventional helmet design is affixed to the skull itself, the neck and spine must absorb the forces of frontal, rear, and lateral impacts delivered from external sources (as well as the weight of the head and the attached helmet). Therefore, when a participant in a vigorous activity encounters moving or stationary force to the head, only the participant""s skull area (and face, if the helmet uses a face shield) is protected from the impact. The neck and spine are unsupported and unprotected from these exterior forces, leading to the range of spinal injuries noted above.
Relatively recent improvements, such as raised padding on the shoulder pad area behind the traditional helmet design, are intended to reduce the incidence and severity of injuries describe above by limiting, somewhat, the range of motion of the free-floating helmet. But such helmet motion-impediment designs are of very limited utility for two primary reasons. First, they only limit helmet mobility in one direction (typically protecting against only a squarely frontal blow). Impact from any other direction renders the motion-impediment design worthless. Second, the more these designs attempt to protect the cervical spine by reducing the range of motion of a free-floating helmet, the less useful that helmet becomes to the participant, whose sight, hearing, and freedom of head movement are usually crucial to the activity in which he is engaged.
For these reasons, no present helmet improvement provides a complete stabilization of, and protection to, the face, head and cervical spine process, while still allowing the participant unfettered range of motion of the head, comfort, unimpeded visibility, and enhanced communications options.
The head dome and connection system provides a clear or tinted, impact-proof, projectile-proof bubble over the head and neck, which is substantially larger than the wearer""s head, and which is secured firmly atop the participant""s shoulders and torso via a connection system of detachable straps to the waistline or around the upper thighs. The wearer has inches of space between the dome and the wearer""s head, allowing the head to move freely inside the dome. When the wearer encounters force to his head or neck from any direction, the dome redirects the force to the shoulders and torso, keeping the cervical portion of the spinal cord free from the injurious stress. This enables the wearer to strike another exterior object with his head, or be stricken in the head by an exterior object or surface, without any possibility of the cervical spine having to absorb the force of the impact. To ensure that neither the wearer""s face or head comes into contact with the inside surface of the dome, a cushioned cap is worn to act as an interior buffer device. The head dome can contain, in various embodiments, climate controlling features, heat resistant materials, radio/digital communication options, and a self-contained breathing apparatus. The head dome and connection system thus keeps the entire face, head, and cervical portion of the spine free from the injurious impacts from exterior forces, objects and projectiles, while preserving the participant""s freedom of head movement, unobstructed vision, enhanced communication options, and comfort. Wearing the clear head dome, the participant""s head and neck movement and interaction with his or her surroundings are virtually as unimpeded if he or she had no head protection whatsoever.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device that will protect the head, skull, face, spine, neck, and back from multi-directional impact to participants in contact sports (such as football, hockey and lacrosse), and other vigorous physical activities (such as motorcycling, downhill skiing, bobsledding/luge, cycling, snowmobiling, race car driving, factory and construction activities, firefighting skydiving).
It is a further object of the invention to provide the protections listed above using extremely tough, durable materials, capable of withstanding the impacts of other identical units (as in full contact sports applications), stationary objects, or projectiles (including bullets, as in law enforcement or military applications), without significantly deforming, denting, cracking or shattering, thereby protecting the face and head of the wearer.
It is a further object of the invention to provide the protections listed above while allowing the wearer to breath normally.
It is a further object of the invention to minimize the potential for other persons to grab the dome with their hands or for the dome to snag on inanimate objects.
It is a further object of the invention to allow for use in a firefighting context or chemical weapons military/law enforcement, where the dome is hermetically sealed with a self-contained breathing apparatus and is resistant to extreme heat, flames, deadly smoke, gas, and nuclear/biological/chemical agents.
It is a further object of the invention to minimize obstruction to the wearer""s vision, either through a decreased field of vision or excessive opacity, while still allowing for logos and/or identification markings to be visible from the exterior.
It is a further object of the invention to allow the system to be worn comfortably, to include compression factors and interior climate.
It is a further object of the invention to provide the wearer adequate ventilation in the system, including air to the wearer and venting moisture.
It is a further object of the invention to allow the unit to contain a communications option.
It is a further object of the invention to provide the protections and features listed above while minimizing the difference in appearance between the present invention and conventional protective head wear devices.
It is a further object of the invention to provide the protections and features listed above while minimizing cost per unit.